Manufacture of chains and chain meshwork



Dec. 25, 1923. 1,478,809

J. M. WEBER ET AL MANUFACTURE OF cums AND can: MESHWORK Filed Aug. 30. 1921 s Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig.

Fig. 3.

Dec. 25, 1923.

J. M. WEBER ET AL MANUFACTURE OF CHAINS AND CHAIN MESHWORK Filed ALIE- 30. 1921 3 Dec. 25, 1923. 1,478,809

J. M WEBER ET AL MANUFACTURE OF CHAINS AND CHAIN MES HWORK Filed Aug. 30. 1921 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 l/VVE/VTURS Jen/p6 79? HUM Patented Dec. 25, 1923.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

' JVOHANN MARTIN WEBER AND KARL BETZ, F FRANKFORT-ON-THE-MAIN, GER- MANY, .ASSIGNORS TO ERNST GIDEON BEK, or PFORZHEIM, GERMANY.

MANUFACTURE OF CHAINS AND CHAIN MESHWORK.

Application filed August so, 1921. Serial No. 496,927.

To aZZ whom it may concern: 1 I

Be it known that we, J OHANN MARTIN WVEBER and KARL BETz, both citizens of the German Republic, residents of Frank- 5 fort-on-the-Main, Germany, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin the Manufacture of Chains and Chain Meshwork; and we do hereby declare'the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains FebruaryQL, 1921, and Poland, March 11,.

manufacture of chains and chain mesh work and in that connection its purpose is to form simultaneously a number of chain wires into rings and to intermesh these rings into the last, formed series of rings by one automatic continuous process and if possible to effect this intermeshing as the series of rings is being formed.

It has already been suggested that the kind of machine, to place them upon a seriesof pins, corresponding in number to the number of rings in one row of the mesh I which is to be manufactured and to simultaneously remove them at the lower end of the pins, to insert each ring into the adjoining rings of the preceding series and then to close the rings. This. however, was not a continuous automatic process.

In the invention, each open ring is formed at one end of a pin, automatically moved along the shank of the pin, removed at the other end of the pin and led over to the-last formed row of the rings and there, by a device of any well-known or approved construction, hooked in and closed.

, intermittently rotating pin.;

open rings should be manufactured on some,

The invention consists in means to effect the following series of steps y 1. Winding of a wireat one end of'an 2. Sliding the formed spirals along the shankof the pin. I

3. Cutting the spirals at a certain point on the pin, whilst the pin is stationary.

4:. Sliding the cut rings further towards the other end of the pin. i a

.5. Distension of the rings inthe cutting groove and flattening jof the spiral I into a plane by passing'over a thickened part of the pin.

end of thepin: v 1 i a i i 7; Moving the ring along by means of a slider on a guide plate to the. place where it is joined to the preceding row. p 1 This method can also be used in. the manu- I facture of chains and offers great advantages for that purpose; the rings, particularly, become perfectly round without the use i of a special pin forclosin'g the ring joint. The invention concerns primarily the,

The individual further improvements are made clear in the following. de scriptionand drawings. The figures represent:

Fig. 1, pin in side elevation with various cross sections. L I

Fig. 2, front elevation of pin.

Fig. 3, plan of the gearing which effects, the rotation of the pin. i

Figs. a to .8, side views of the machine, partly in sections, at various stages of the ork I J p Q Fig. 9, plan ofthemachine. I y

Fig. 10, a detail of the device for moving at the upper end of the pin.

In the first method of applying the machine, the process of forming the rings is as" follows: (Figs. 1 and 2.) i

Removal of the last ring at the other At the lower end of the pin a the wire (Z for a new turn. The spiral, which is thus in process of forming, travels up the pin a to a groove a in the periphery of the pin,

7 where it is cut by a saw 7" or by some other means for this purpose moves towards the pin and effe'cts' the cuttingby: projecting into the groove (1 The cut rings" are pushed further up on to the thickened end agof the pin. 'Thisdistendsthe ring suffic'iently1to be hooked-intoa single link of a chain or into two links of a piece of chain mesh-work.

Further, whilst the ring is thus forced over the end a of the: pin the: spiral twist is lost, making the ring plane. At the upper end of thepin'"-'the opened ring is finally drawn off byaslider and-'led-"to'the=position for-intermeshing.

The intermittent rotation of" the pin is produced by means of atoothed rod-m, moving to and fro, which engages the toothed wheel I) 'ongthe sleeve 6" onthe lower spindle a 'On the sleeve" ZY is secured=the ratchet wheel 6 into which engages the pawl b 'ro-r tatably moun'ted-on the arm a which arm is "fir-ml spin lea {In this w'ay the pinmakes a complete revolution when the rod on moves connected to the "lower end of the 7 forward and is stationary as therod moves the" projecting A edge bf-the collar and is so spirals.

' 'back.

The device for raising the-collar o-consists Ofaspr'mgnrm 0w-hi'ch engages under fixed to the machine frame at c that it: acts "downwards. The" lift of this-j collar emanatesfromthe-eam e on the driving shaft 25.

This cam engagesthe lever e? and moves the rode aga-instthe pullof thespr-inge' The 1 rod 6 is at its otherend-attachedto the'lever e which swings on the fulcrum '6 and carries a"wedge piece c This wedge-piece c --on the return stroke of the rode? under the influence "of the spring a, strikes a corresponding wedge-piece c -onthe arm 0 and raises thisfby-about one thick-- ness 'of-the wire. The movement of the lever 6 also serves the purposefof cutting the wire At its upper end-isone of the bearings ofthe saw f on the *aXlefQ the-other bearing of the saw is in'the end of'therotating shaft'fflwhence the saw: receives itsrotary motion throu'gh the fixed pin connections ffif. The movement of the lever 6 "moves the saw towards the pin and causes the saw to cut whilst the pinis stationary.

drives 1:, 1:

The shaft 7 is rotated' from thedriving shaft 25 through -the cone wheel-transmission- The wire (Zruns-on to the pin through a brake 'd', which canbe tightened and regulated by'mea-nsbfthescrew 01 and the springs'd The windlng of the" wire on the pin'under tension has the effect that-the wire isfnot i only securelyand closely wound round the pin but also sets up further tensions in the c5='=wirewhenthis'isbeing bent which favour may plane shape of the turn when out. 7 V 7 As each ring is delivered at the upper end of the'pin it is pushed to one side by a needlelike slider g on a guide plate 19 and arrives at the last formed link of the chain it as the latter is coiled on the chainwheel is.

The movement ofthe slider gemanatesfrom the cam g on the shaft t, whichstrikes the lever g swinging on the fulcrum g and m itsturn operating on'the pin g of the slider 9 during the forward thrust the backward thrust being-effected: by the spring 9 The slider runs under a plate 9 which has a guiding slot for the rib g of'the slider g which plate 9 prevents the ring being moved out ofthe plane ofthe guide plate 19' after the ring has been I removed *from the end of the pm, as the distance between the ipper end of the pin and the plate g amounts only to the thickness of a wire. I

' The movement to and fro of thetoothed rod m is-transmitted fromtheshaft .t-by the connectingrod m -and'the crank m It-is obviousthat the machine canbeused not only for the-manufacture of single chains; but that-it'is also suitable for-the continuous production of chain mesh-work,

if the number of pins be multiplied.

' One advantage of rings made in thisway is their irrepro'ach'ably round shape-and'the exactitude of "the joint; 1'

It isfobvious' that this method of apply the straightening from the helical to the ing the invention-admitsof various mod1- fications; for instance, the rings may under certain circumstances 'be'distended after removal from the pin-or during such removal; The groove in the pin for cutting the spirals under certain circumstances; be a mere bevel, which also fills the purpose of facilitating a smooth and complete out by the cutter throughthe whole thickness of wireQThe saw may be replaced by other cutting devices. The intermi'ttent rotation of the pin may beeffectedbyother means than a'feed- 'ing-device. Y 7

Now-whatwe claim and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is the following I 1. In amachinefor the' manufacture of means to'open the individual rings after cutting the coil.

3; In a machine as describ'ed in claim 2,

said intermittently rotating pin being provided with a gradually tapering thickening. 4. In amachine as described-inclaim 1',

said cuttin'g device being provided with means to move it towards the coil on the pin, whilst in its stationary position.

5. In a machine as described in claim 1,

said cutting device being provided with means to move it towards the coil on the pin, whilst in its stationary position and a recess on the pin at the place where the cutting takes place. I

6. A machine as claimed in claim 5, said cutting device consisting of a circular saw fixed on a rocking shaft. v

7. In a machine as described inclaim 1, said shifting means comprising a collar at the lower end of the pin capable of an axial rocking movement on the pin equal to one thickness of wire.

8. A machine as claimed in claim 1, said ring feeding means comprising a slider consistlng of a plate which serves as a guide plate for the slider and limits the upward movement of the removed ring.

In testimony whereof we afliX our si atures. F rankiorton-tl1e-Main this 8th day of August, 1921.

JOHANN MARTIN WEBER. KARL BETZ. 

